[Video — Both Accidental and Not]

[heritrix]

[Backdated to March 2, early afternoon.]

—n't be right. [A mumbled voice, scarcely heard. A flash of... Something red, it's hard to tell.] Wasn't it thi—?

[The video blinks out as soon as it started, nothing but a static feed. It stays like that, too, for a good 12 minutes: a video entry to the network of absolutely no substance.]

---

[—until unexpectedly it turns on again! Rin's face is visible in the frame this time, too close and blurry. Her head bobs away slowly, seemingly looking at something on her phone but not directly into the camera.]

Steady. Steadyyyy... Just like that— [The angle slides and loses her, topples towards a stone surface.] Ah!

[Thunk, crack! The feed cuts again, whoops.]

---

Hi, hi. Rin Tohsaka here.

[Third time's the charm? Framed perfectly in the shot and wearing a yellow apron, Rin stands behind a countertop in the kitchen. Hands on her hips, she beams at the camera.]

It's been a boring, uneventful couple of days, hasn't it? Normally, this time of month we'd be welcoming a fresh batch of soldiers into our ranks, but as of today, no new faces have shown up yet. It's strange for sure.

[But not too strange. New arrivals were late by a few days in January, after all, so this isn't the first time the routine has been broken. Head turned and tapping her cheek innocently, Rin considers saying as much, or asking if there have been other weird incidents like that, but...

No, that isn't what she meant to do today. Pressing that finger a little more deeply into her cheek, it creates an artificial dimple when she smiles brightly again.]

Strange, and more importantly than that: dull! Which is why I'll be in the kitchen all day today. [She snaps her fingers, pointing at the camera.] That's where you come in!

I'm challenging myself. Name a food or ingredient, or even several, and I'll try to make something yummy that incorporates all of them. Anything in stock in the kitchen goes!

[With this she grabs her phone, so she can turn it and record all the various different foods and ingredients they have here, both what she's laid out on the counters (eggs, frosting, butter, strawberries, among other things), as well as what's in the fridge and pantries. FEEL FREE TO MAKE UP WHATEVER YOU WANT YOUR CHARACTERS TO SEE HERE.]

Bonus! [She turns the camera back on herself.] Anything I make you can stop by and help yourself to eating, too. Sounds fun, right? So fire away or come visit. You know where to find me.

[A little wave, and video end.]

Comments

[heritrix]

[She tilts her head, a subtle nod to acknowledge he's right, though it's not as simple as that. Actually, it's guaranteed to be more complicated.

The Clock Tower's curriculum puts all of its students to the test, but on its own wouldn't be so grueling. If she wanted to be average.

Rin doesn't. Born with natural talent, the lesson of how much farther one can get through hard work was never lost on her. The light she was always chasing, her father, had instilled that in her. And with a pat on the head, the dream he had shared for her future to her had become her ambition as well.

Rin Tohsaka will become a great magus, putting every peer beside her to shame. She plans to have her nose to the grindstone, working to achieve that goal. Her studies will absorb her, the excitement of finally being among her own kind; a lot of time could pass before she'd think to herself she really should see the English countryside or famous landmarks.

Still, she 100% agrees with Masaomi's assessment of the world, and has to laugh at it.]

I'll no doubt be the only mage there who will appreciate it, too.

[generalflirt]

[ The only mage, huh? That confirms the suspicion he had but didn't want to voice for fear of sounding stupid. He suspects he's hit on something deeply personal, but he doesn't want to poke at it overly much.

He hums a little, shifting on the counter and laughing. ]

Oh, I'd bet.

[ So she, too, has some sort of fantastical life ahead of her, some sort of destiny. Still, he shouldn't dwell on it. Everyone seemed to, even if more often than not... well, even if Katara's life worked out in the end, or Aang's, it's not like it was devoid of suffering. ]

So you'll be an oddity in every sense.. Acha, that makes me feel a little better, actually!

[heritrix]

[Her eyebrow twitches.]

Odd, you say.

[generalflirt]

Didn't you just say you'd be an "abnormal" mage for appreciating society beauty?

[heritrix]

[That's distinctly different from what Masaomi said.]

Quite, quite. In every sense.

[Despite a smile on her face and a sing-song tune, those words seem to be dripping in venom.]

[generalflirt]

Well, to us mere mortals, you might call a mage abnormal in the first place!

[ He's not giving up on his own smile ]

[heritrix]

Is that all?

[Just the mage thing? Nothing else, in any sense?

You know this recipe only called for half the chili to be mixed with the seasoning, but oops. Rin's knife scrapes a little more than from the cutting board and into the mixture.]

[generalflirt]

What else could I possibly mean?!

[ What is she doing...

This seems rude...

And dangerous... ]

[heritrix]

I wonder!

[DO TELL.

But no, she's not going to actually press this further, and Masaomi is a dead man if he catches on enough to elaborate. But jeez. Calling a girl odd in every sense implies way more categories than the one, you jerk.

But no it's fair to assume they lapse back into normal conversation after a bit here, so let's fast forward a bit. A little further in the cooking process!

The mackerel is grilling and should be done any minute, and Rin is putting some final touches on a watercress salad. Sliced shallots and orange segments are mixed in with it artistically, and Rin drizzles a homemade orange chili sauce over it right as the timer for the grill goes off.]

[generalflirt]

[ Oh, that was for the salad, good. He nodded to himself. He'd been making just useless conversation for a while now, but now that they seem to be nearing done... Ah.

He wanted to say more about the fish, but thinks better of it. ]

Oh, it looks like we're nearing completion here.

[heritrix]

[Well, the salad and the fish! After cutting a slash in the mackerel, she'd lightly pressed the seasoning into the flesh before grilling. The remaining chili had gone to making the sauce. She'd mixed it into a bowl of freshly squeezed orange juice, mustard, and honey.]

Mhmmm! The fish might have more kick to it than I intended, but the sweetness of the salad should balance it out. I think it turned out well.

[Plating the mackerel atop the salad, she presents Masaomi's meal to him. The final product looks something like this! There's a second plate she's prepared for herself as well.]

Give it a few minutes to cool, then give it a try!

[generalflirt]

[ Oh, this is a lot fancier than Shikamaru would-

Unfair comparison, probably.

Ah well.

But he nods to himself, taking the plate in and maybe even spinning it a little. ]

Mmmhm! Thank you, Rin-chan! I'd have to say I'm flattered!

[heritrix]

[???

That wasn't the reaction she was expecting. He's going through the motions, but that flash of disappointment was plain on his face.]

Are you? You look like you sniffed out something bad.

[generalflirt]

Just some unfitting nostalgia.

[ That's said with a wry smirk as he goes to take his first bite. He languishes over it all pretty unnecessarily. He swirls it on his tongue, and he clicks his tongue a little. And finally, after the swallow, ]

It's delicious, actually.

[heritrix]

[Fufufufu. She laughs and looks like she wants to say something, but just takes a seat before her own plate instead.]

[generalflirt]

[ There's going to be some sort of a trick here and there's going to be some downfall for him...? Oh well, he sets off on eating this in silence, glancing up at her now and again with one eye open, focusing on the food. ]

[heritrix]

[Nope, none of that!]

Thank you. [She responds at last, genuinely pleasant.] I'm pleased to receive an honest response like that.

[For the food, at least, when he said it was delicious. He was lying about something else before that.]

[generalflirt]

Well, of course! To be anything less than the truth isn't a part of my Series Bible as it relates to women!

[ With a little spin in his chair, a wink, and a wiggle of his hand out towards her to sort of simulate a blown kiss. ... Leave it to him to be theatrical when muted would probably be better. But he laughs it off, going for yet more of his food. A bit more soberly though, he follows up quickly with: ]

It's a different take, this sort of mackerel. I didn't see the flavor coming.

[heritrix]

[She prefers it this way, actually. A lively meal is a unique experience for her. Rin brags without any modesty:]

You were expecting something plain. Of course I would blow that expectation out of the water.

[generalflirt]

You could call it plain, or you could call it a classic! One doesn't diss on miso soup for being miso!

[ That said, he's still eating more. ]

[heritrix]

I would, if I could make miso. Since I can't, it loops back to being remarkable for me.

[generalflirt]

[ Wait, what... ]

You can't work with miso?

[heritrix]

[She holds her head high.]

Nope. Not at all.

[generalflirt]

And you're Japanese.

[ Even he has miso... ]

[heritrix]

So? I'm Finnish too, but I'm not about to pull out a cabbage roll for you.